Chicago programs

[irishdoc01]

hello,

i was wondering what kind of Step 1 scores you all think it takes to get interviews at these places...

UC
UIC
Rush
Loyola
Northwestern
Cook County
ALGH

my chairman says that 210's on Step 1 with 220's on Step 2 will do the trick at Northwestern, where he has connections with both the chairman and program director.

thoughts?

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[Kalel]

I'd aim for above 220 for NW, above 230 for UC, and above avg for the rest. You could probably get an interview at most of the rest with a below avg USMLE step I and strong clinical evals to tell the truth though. I was told by one PD that when his secretary screens applicants, not only does she look at USMLE scores, but she also takes into account grades, class rank, and school rep. Anyways, since you haven't taken step I yet, I'd just try to get as high of score as possible. 😉

 

[Adawaal]

An above average Step 1 score is probably good enough for NWU right now. Their IM program is in a bit of decline, and a lot of the top area candidates this year I talked to ranked UofC and even Rush higher than NWU on their ROL. All the Chicago programs seem to have a lower USMLE threshold for students from area med schools, so this would be a big help as well.

 

[Renovar]

Originally posted by Adawaal
An above average Step 1 score is probably good enough for NWU right now. Their IM program is in a bit of decline, and a lot of the top area candidates this year I talked to ranked UofC and even Rush higher than NWU on their ROL. All the Chicago programs seem to have a lower USMLE threshold for students from area med schools, so this would be a big help as well.

I had 241 on step 1, and my class rank is above average from a top 15 med school, but was rejected at NU without interview.

That pissed me off majorly.

 

[golytlely]

Chicago area scores,

U of C Need above 230 on USMLE and be in top tier with honors in medicine

NWU Need 230 or around plus good letters

UIC
LOYOLA
RUSH all these graduating from a u.s. school should get you an interview, all about the same rep, Loyola has a better clinical reputation than either UIC or RUSH- however has struggled in the match recently taking several DOs. RUSH and UIC favor locals, but should be easily obtained, all of the above do decently for fellowships.


coming from the midwest kick

golyte

 

[Kalel]

Originally posted by Renovar
I had 241 on step 1, and my class rank is above average from a top 15 med school, but was rejected at NU without interview.

That pissed me off majorly.

Could that have had to do with your visa issues? The interview/application process is very random. Maybe the inverse of what the OP posted was true in your case too (the PD had a thing against Vanderbilt, instead of being buddy buddy with your chairperson). PD's seem to have their own preference and rank of med schools in the back of their mind, it seems pretty arbitrary to me sometimes (people know of one prof who they like from one school, or one resident from one school was really rude, etc). I agree with the NWU decline though, I've heard it from faculty at my school too. It's one of the reasons why I didn't apply.

 

[sanfilippo]

i received interview invites from all the university-based chicago programs. i think as long as you do reasonably well on step 1 (say 220 or better) and did well clinically with good letters, you should be able to eke interivews at each site. many of the chicago programs are currently in flux. i would think about the following:

1) do you want to research?
2) are you considering subspecializing?
3) are you considering academic vs. private practice?
4) what kind of patient population do you want?

u of c has a long academic tradition, is smaller, harder to get into even with a research background. has the better gi division but not good in hepatology.

nu tends to be in flux more so from year to year, is beefing up its research options, now a ward-based system but some say you will still encounter well-to-do patients. some say may has the better hem/onc division and hepatology.

uic has a very good patient population and is clinically focused and does not offer much research. shares the chicago va with northwestern...still not sure how that has worked out. uic still has priority there, i think.

rush has many private patients and attendings. rush has insanely happy residents. not sure about research.

loyola is an up-and-coming program, has its own va, and probably has the best cardiology division in the city.


rheumatology is not the best in any of the chicago programs. northwestern has the largest division but u of c is ranked high in research with its ties to the immunology/basic sciences departments.

-s.

 

[apellous]

Originally posted by golytlely
Chicago area scores,

U of C Need above 230 on USMLE and be in top tier with honors in medicine

NWU Need 230 or around plus good letters

UIC
LOYOLA
RUSH all these graduating from a u.s. school should get you an interview, all about the same rep, Loyola has a better clinical reputation than either UIC or RUSH- however has struggled in the match recently taking several DOs. RUSH and UIC favor locals, but should be easily obtained, all of the above do decently for fellowships.


coming from the midwest kick

golyte

Actually 4 people matched at RUSH from my DO school this year so I geuss they struggled too. Whatever "struggled" means. I guess if a program takes a DO it is struggling. So I guess the mayo clinic struggled, cleveland clinic, northwestern struggled, u of c struggled. It is hard to imagine. Are there any top programs in the entire midwest or do all of them stoop so low in their rank list to have to take DOs.

Hate people Like this A$$hole. Heck they probably took some minorities too. I sure dont want to work with them either.

Jerk

 

[Skrubz]

Originally posted by sanfilippo
uic has a very good patient population and is clinically focused and does not offer much research. shares the chicago va with northwestern...still not sure how that has worked out. uic still has priority there, i think.

ward teams are completely separate - UIC with 6 (as has always been the case) and NU with 5. pts previously seen at lakeside for clinic go to NU, those previously seen at westside for clinic go to UIC. for those who are brand new to the system, which service they go to depends on their SSN. if it's even, they go to one; off, they go to the other.

consult services and MICU is mixed, with NU and UIC attendings and fellows alternating months (or in the case of the unit, doing six month stretches), while both UIC and NU residents are on the teams. i don't remember seeing any NU students on the consult services or in the unit, so either they don't have the option or none have opted to exercise it.

 

[Renovar]

Originally posted by Kalel
Could that have had to do with your visa issues?

I think the visa issue is what my dean told me after she talked to the NU's PD. Even she couldn't believe it. Apparently I wasn't the only one this year who got nerfed for an interview at NU from my school this year which prompted her to call. Shouldn't be a hard-feeling thing against my school too... One of their chiefs this year is a grad from our school, and one of our classmate matched there this year (and he got a B+ in MS3 medicine rotation with a step 1 lower than mine, too).

One of the conclusion that I drew from the application cycle is that board scores and good eval/letter alone is not enough to guarantee interviews at good academic programs, especially in popular cities. So while it's good idea to do as well as one can in step 1, the XXX score cut-off for interview thing, while popular and commonly used in surgery subspecialties and radiology, is blown far out of proportion at top IM programs. Seems like every program has a different kind of personality they are looking for, and they'll reject people if your stuff dont fit what they're looking for, regardless of your record or score.

 

[golytlely]

apellous,

Clearly you misinterpreted my comments. I have no doubt that there are plenty of DOs that are far more qualified and even better humanitarians applying to internal medicine programs--------HOWEVER the philosophy of many program directors and no one would argue this is that medical school you are applying from is an important part of your application-being so regardless of your qualifications the IMGs and DOs typically have a more difficult time obtaining positions at academic hospitals. whether or not this has to do with the underlying philosophy of the training or a preprogrammed bias it still exists.

Therefore one would reason that a residency that takes a high number of DOs or IMGs is less competetive (not struggling as I previously erroneosly stated) this has nothing to do with race or creed, and i resent the comparison.

chill my brother

golyte

 

[mediocre]

no interest in the Finch/CMS program? based on the residents I've seen there, it seems like the requirement is that you have to be a FMG. Well, at least they're all very outstanding FMG's...


FYI: Mayo Clinic's Internal Medicine Class of 2007 will have...
1 D.O.
8. FMG's

they must be super D.O.'s and super FMG's

 

[metalupyoura**]

i got an interview at northwestern

step 1 211


step 2 243

very good letters, and did well on clerkships but my med school does not have a huge rep by any stretch of the imagination